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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Espresso Salt Seared Scallop with Lime Grapefruit Dressing Salad


I'm just into seafood recently because I intook too much meat - all kind of meat. Don't get me wrong. I like pork belly, good steak, chicken tender and stuff. However, my body can't handle it very well when I intake too much. Do you have the same problem? Rotating meatless and seafood meal occasionally is good for your digestion and health!

Okay, enough of talking seafood. I chose to cook with scallops because 1) I want it. 2) I haven't cooked them for a while and I don't care if the hubs isn't a big fan. 3) I can't resist seared scallops with brown Brit. 4) I have espresso salt that I'd like to experiment with. 5) All of the above. I think I have enough reasons to justify with the hubs (wink).

I used Alaskan scallops in this recipe. I also wanted to incorporate espresso salt, herbs, grapefruit, and lime for the dressing. This dressing went well with seafood-any kind of seafood, baby arugula, and fennel. The espresso salt was redeemed at Marx Foods for the credit I won on the Reishi mushroom challenge. It has an interesting flavor. Well yeah, salt and espresso in one bite.

I marinaded scallops with lime juice for half hour to get more flavor, pat dry, and seasoned with espresso salt and pepper. Seared them in a hot pan to get a good color and texture. For the dressing, I sneaked white truffle oil in it; just to have a what-is-that-taste in the background.

You can plate as appetizer - a bite size


Espresso Salt Seared Scallop with Lime Grapefruit Dressing Salad
Yield: 4 entrees or 8 appetizers

Ingredients

For dressing:
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup grapefruit juice

1 tsp espresso salt or more
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs minced parsley
1 Tbs minced mint
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
1 Tbs truffle oil (or you can leave this out and drizzle on the salad as a finish-touch)
Olive oil

For scallops:
1 lb fresh Alaskan scallops
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbs Walnut oil
Espresso salt and black pepper

For salad:

1 package baby arugula
2 grapefruits, segmented
1 cup or more chopped celery
Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 fennel, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 cup, toasted Walnut or pine nuts (optional)

Espresso salt I got. I have a long way to go with this container!


Directions:
  • Marinade scallops in lime juice that you get from 1 lime for half hour. After half hour, pat dry. Season with espresso salt and pepper.
  • While waiting for scallops to get marinaded, in a small bowl, mix parsley, mint, tarragon, 2 limes juice, grapefruit juice, 1 tsp espresso salt, pepper, garlic chili sauce, truffle oil (if using), and olive oil. I didn't put much olive oil but you can adjust to your preference.
  • In a hot pan, add 1 Tbs of Walnut oil; swirl to coat. Sear scallops until brown. When scallops are done, they will be easy to flip. If they're still stick to the pan, they're not done yet. DO NOT overcook scallops otherwise they will become rubbery.
  • Mix all the green -arugula, tomatoes, fennel, celery, grapefruit, and nuts (if using). Pour the dressing over and mix well. Be careful not to over mix otherwise arugula will get bruised.
  • Plate it and top with seared scallop(s). Drizzle remaining dressing on a scallop and finish with truffle oil.
The dressing

Another idea of plating


7 comments:

Vicki Bensinger said...

This is lovely. I hope it tasted as good as it looks.

I'm with you, too much meat I can't handle. My husband can eat it all the time and he hates scallops as well. I love them.

Tonight I'm making salmon and he informed me he getting take-out from a place I can't stand. So we'll both be happy with our dishes tonight.

Unknown said...

I'm loving that appetizer bite of sea scallops, salad and dressing, wow, yum! Good luck using up all your salt, maybe you could send me a small bag, just kidding!
Sometimes I'm craving seafood too, enough already with the meat and poultry!

Angie's Recipes said...

hehe it doesn't matter how they are plated...I love them! The dressing sounds fantastic.

Roxana GreenGirl said...

Appetizers or entree they still look great!
I don't eat meat not shellfish but hubby would enjoy a couple of these!

Priscilla - She's Cookin' said...

Haha, all good reasons for preparing scallops - and what a fabulous creation! I'm with you - eating too much meat is hard on your system and can get boring - we eat a lot of seafood. Congrats on the mushroom challenge, T!

LeQuan said...

Another one of my faves! This looks fantastic, Tanantha. I've never tried espresso salt before. Sounds like an interesting ingredient to use with scallops. Loving both your presentations and all your photos. Hope you're doing well and that you have a terrific weekend!

Magic of Spice said...

These are just gorgeous T~...Wow! Now I have a new salt I need to get my hands on... espresso is one I have now tried yet :)

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